1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hat assembly having a predetermined shape, e.g., a basketball, a soccer ball, a tire, a football or the like, that is structured to store in a carrying member a hat that is selectively positionable between a collapsed, stored position in the carrying member, and an expanded position designed for wearing. In the expanded position, the hat is preferably structured to include an enlarged brim that extends sufficiently outward from the head of the wearer so as to offer protection against the rays of the sun or rain.
2. Description of the Related Art
The wearing of hats by the population generally has been popular for many years. This popularity has lead to a wide variety of hats being available in numerous sizes and configurations which heretofore are primarily dictated by style preferences. In addition to being dictated by style preferences, certain hat designs are created to be primarily functional to the extent that certain hats are specifically fabricated for specific purposes such as warmth, protection from the rays of the sun, rain and the like.
Hats are available in a wide variety of designs. Typically, hats designed primarily for the men's market are not focused in terms of making a fashion statement. Thus, hats designed primarily for the men's market are usually more visible in that they are often more casual, as evidenced by baseball caps, cowboy hats, and other sporting apparel.
Hats designed primarily for the women's market are focused in terms of making a fashion statement. Thus, hats designed primarily for the women's market are usually stylish and have decorative components or detailed and have features which attract attention, as evidenced by wide annular shaped brim straw hats, sun hats having a large front brims and other stylish feature.
Recently, the distinction between hats designed primarily for the men's market or for the women's market is becoming blurred in that women are now wearing hats designed primarily for the men's market, such as baseball caps, cowboy hats and the like.
One problem or disadvantage associated with the design of various hat structures, regardless of whether they are intended for the men's market or women market, is the storage of the hat in a carrying member without folding or otherwise damaging the hat itself. For example, with respect to many fashionable hats, including some cowboy hats, storage often requires the use of relatively large, bulky “hat boxes” or other storage containers that take up a great deal of room and which are impractical for carrying the hat to a function, such as a sporting function. As such, it is difficult to transport hats stored in such carrying or storage cases.
Thus, the carrying of a hat, when it is not being worn, is generally considered to be somewhat bothersome, particularly with hats of larger sizes and/or of configurations designed to shade a wearer from the rays of the sun or provide protection from rain or the like.
The prior art discloses some solutions to overcome the problem of how to store a hat without damaging it.
For example, with respect to baseball caps, it is known to provide a pole-like structure with a plurality of clips disposed thereon, each of which is structured to receive the bill of the cap therein so as to permit easy storage and display of several baseball caps.
Foldable hats have been developed, one of which provides a rigid skeletal frame comprised of a number of “ribs,” typically made of wood and carrying a common fabric covering, which ribs are all connected at one end at a central pivot point, about which individual ribs of the frame can be “fanned” to cause the hat to assume a wearable orientation or a folded orientation, as desired.
In addition, foldable hats have been developed which are formed of a cloth material and which utilize a flexible hoop structured to act as a supporting frame for the material defining the hat, which hoop may be manipulated to cause the hat to assume what may be considered a collapsed position for storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,892 discloses a foldable hat with a storage pocket wherein the hat is fabricated from a supple and foldable material and comprises a reversible pocket made in the hat, into which the hat can be folded and stored when not in use. The hats are styled in the form of a golf hat, e.g. FIG. 11. Or baseball hat, e.g., FIG. 16, and which are hats of a style typically designed for the men's market.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,256,794 discloses a hat assembly capable of being repeatedly, easily and selectively oriented either in a compact, collapsed position for convenient storage and transport, or in an outwardly expanded position for wearing. The hat assembly includes a head engaging portion which at least partially encloses a portion of the head of a wearer, and an outwardly extending brim, both preferably made of a soft, flexible cloth material. The brim is structured to extend outwardly a significant distance from the head of the wearer so as to offer some protection to the wearer's face, neck and shoulders from the sun, by maintaining these areas in a shaded position. The hat assembly also includes a shaping frame in the form of a continuous, closed loop of flexible material secured to an outer periphery of the brim. In the expanded position, the hat assembly is defined by the shaping frame assuming a single substantially circular configuration and exerting a radially directed tensioning force on the brim so as to maintain it in a substantially planar orientation in surrounding relation to the wearer's head. The collapsed position is defined by twisting or other manipulation of the shaping frame to orient and dispose the shaping frame in a plurality of attached, substantially concentrically oriented loops with the material defining the brim and the head engaging portion disposed in folded over relation about the loops. The hats are styled in the form of a annular shaped, wide brimmed sun hat, e.g. FIGS. 1, 11 and 12, and which are hats of a style typically designed for the women's market.
As some of the more stylish hats often incorporate wide brims as well, a problem associated with known collapsible hat structures is the inability to satisfy certain styling demands and to provide a carrying case having a predetermined shaped representing a known article, such as for example, a basketball shape or car tire shape.